This is my attempt at addressing one of the most ignored periods in recent Cardassian history, the Revolution of 2372. It was destroyed by the Klingon War and by the actions of one Skrain Dukat. This then, is the story of Cardassia's forgotten revolution... Ten Days on Cardassia. Prologue: An Execution How did it come to this? It was hardly a unique question, being one that was asked by all sentient beings at one point in their lives or another, but for him it held a special poignancy. He looked around him at the great state hall of the Union, at the great symbol of the once mighty Union, the Galor. He saw all the others around him those who had been at the very start, those who had made history and changed Cardassia forever, he saw them and took their measure. Some were scared with eyes darting back and forth, sweat gleaming on their foreheads and neck ridges; others schemed and looked for a way out. The final group stood defiant and proud as befitted the few military officers who opposed the Traitor. Then he saw them enter the Hall and the hate filled him, consuming his very being. There they stood, the Traitor and his new allies. The soldiers he saw first and he recognised their sort from his time serving the Union, mere brutes that followed orders without question and yet saw themselves as the superior beings. Yet these did not serve the Traitor, not by a long shot; they served the new rulers of Cardassia. The grey skin should have been comforting to him but the spines that surrounded those harsh rocky faces spoke only of death and pain to all who stood against them. And death is all Cardassia will have at the end,he thought, stunning himself with the honest truth of that statement. But before he could speak up and warn the others about their doom, the Traitor spoke, his infamous smirk ever on his face. “Gentlemen,” he purred, “you have been tried by a Cardassian court and found guilty of high treason against the State. This carries a penalty of death which will be carried out--” Before he could finish, one of the guls interrupted him. “Don’t make me laugh, Skrain! No true citizen of the Union will ever recognise your puppet government or your murdering lickspittles! You should be on trial, Dukat, for selling our beloved Union to these scum you call our allies!” As the cheers rang out across the hall he saw the odd Terran with the strange ears turn to the Traitor with a smile on his lips and mutter something. The Traitor glared at the crowd, his usual urbane mask slipping into a cold look of fury. “ENOUGH!” roared the Traitor, sweeping his hand across his chest. “You have failed Cardassia and I will do what is right for our people--starting with your deaths!” The condemned man looked behind the Traitor where he saw several Cardassians in uniform. Some he recognised as the usual bootlickers, but one interested him for he did not hold himself as the others did. This one, a glinn by his rank, looked either to the floor or at the back of the Traitor's neck, never looking at the line of his fellow Cardassians before him. And he looks drunk, guessed the soon to be ex-Cardassian. I think not all of the Traitor’s men agree with what he has done. Unfortunately he would never get the chance to pursue that train of thought because the aliens raised their rifles to shoulder height and the vile Traitor spoke the last words that the Councilman would ever hear. “READY, AIM...” The Traitor paused enjoying his moment of triumph, gloating over his final victory. Then he spoke the last word, which would seal the fate of Cardassia. “FIRE!” As he heard that word the loyal son of Cardassia could think of only two things: firstly that at least the Old Man was not here to see this and that there was just one question that would forever go unanswered. How did it come to this?
As I told you in PM, I am REALLY looking forward to hearing the story of how the revolution happened! Tekeny said the movement would live on even after his exile and/or death--and I can't wait to see how it survived that blow to become strong enough to slap down Central Command and the Obsidian Order!
A very sober beginning to what turned out to be a sad point in Cardassian history. The beginning of the end, I guess. I'm very interested to see how this Revolution played out as seen through Cardassian eyes. Too bad that we already know it's all gonna end badly. Oh well, that's life.
My thanks for the kind reviews. Unfortunately we do know how this saga will end but we never found out how and why. I hope to give a modest account of what happened during those fateful days. CeJay, I decided to start with the negative outcome of the Revolution because we all know the end. I will be starting from the very beginning of the Revolution, a time of social and political upheaval on Cardassia Prime. There will be highs and lows to this tale and perhaps a spark of hope for Cardassia after the Dominion War. And Nerys Ghemor, we will see how the Central Command was overthrown (The Jem'har obviously played a huge role in bringing down the Obsidian order.)
Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked it. The title is a based on John Reed's Ten Days that shook the World; a history of the Bolshevik revolution. I will hopefully post chapter one at the end of the weekend.
Here is a quick teaser for Chapter one of Part one, in the hope that people do not think that I have abandoned this FanFic. I hope you like it. Ten Days on Cardassia. Part One: The Central Command Cannot Hold. “...Since the Jem’Hadar are genetically addicted to a drug that only the Founders can provide, we expect the Jem’Hadar to die once their supplies of the drug run out: a matter of days by our estimates. However, that will give them enough time to stage some kind of counterattack against the Alpha Quadrant so I suggest you place the Cardassian Fleet on alert...” All over Cardassia Prime millions stopped in their tacks to stare up at the giant oval screens dotted over the sprawling cities of the homeworld. They saw a genial man in the prime of his life, a man who was overweight by normal Cardassian standards, with a pleasant voice that offered reassurance and comfort. However to those who knew him this was no ordinary being, this was a man feared throughout the Union and respected far beyond its borders. He was the head of one of the most infamous organisations in the entire Alpha Quadrant and the only man to retire peacefully from that post without assassination. Enabran Tain, Head of the Obsidian Order was speaking to the Union. “...I take this action not in defiance of the Cardassian state, but in defence of it. You in the Central Command have neglected the security of our people and allowed peace with Bajor and the Federation to blind you to the real threat: the Dominion. I intend to remove that threat. Let history be my judge.” All over Cardassia Prime, the colonies and territories of the Union, and on a former mining station known as Deep Space Nine, the message ended and shut down. The chaos that followed was easily predicted but the consequences of Tain’s actions would have results that would shatter the whole Quadrant...